New Yet Old
by JadeSelena
Summary: Post 3x01; Gail-centric; mostly Gail/Nick
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so the new episode didn't anger me as much as I thought it would, mostly because they managed to do the one thing that would make Nick interesting to me (and an okay pairing for Gail, imo). I am by no means jumping the Peckstein ship but I'll need to (at least partially) focus on something that's attainable. And apparently Peckstein isn't happening anytime soon...**

**Thanks to margie311 for brainstorming with me; as always you're a doll :)**

**For the purposes of this story the episode ended with the Gail/Nick scene because it starts from there.**

* * *

Andy watched Gail from across the room, not at all surprised when the blonde headed for the door of the Penny and, after a few seconds, the new guy got up to trail her out. "Glad to see some things never change…" she grinned, tilting her chin in that direction.

Traci looked over her shoulder in time to see them leave. "That _has_ to be a new record…" Less than twelve hours…

Dropping into Gail's vacated seat Dov noticed the girls' smiles. "What'd I miss?"

Andy's grin faltered, belatedly realizing the boys probably wouldn't be _as_ glad… "Uh… _nothing_. Gail just left, that's all…"

Dov raised an eyebrow, even more confused when Chris just focused on his beer.

"What my dear deception-challenged friend _didn't_ say," Traci clarified with a roll of her eyes, "Is that she wasn't _alone_." Apparently Andy's notoriously bad lying was _among_ the things that hadn't changed…

"New guy?" Dov guessed, as though Gail would have left with anyone _other_ than the (apparently) hot newbie who had braved chilly waters to get a perp…

"I was _trying_ to be tactful," Andy huffed at her best friend, who obviously had no such compunction…

Dismissing the brunette's indignation Traci wondered aloud, "_Seriously_ – are there pheromones in her venom or something? What is it about Gail Peck that you guys find so darned irresistible?"

"She's Gail," Chris shrugged. There really _wasn't_ an explanation; it just _was._

There was _no way_ Dov wanted to come off that weak-willed… "I was young and naïve then," he defended, adopting a British accent to conclude, "_I got better_…"

"_Really_?" So Traci _didn't_ still catch him ogling Gail in the parade room or the squad room (or _any _room, really) when he thought he could get away with it? The only thing he'd gotten _better_ at was pretending he was better, and even then, not by much…

Chris rolled his eyes at his best friend, not buying the blatant lie _or_ the Monty Python reference. "Are you trying to say she turned you into a newt?" If Gail _were _a witch (the spell-casting kind) he doubted she would have been so nice about it. A _toad_, maybe. Or a dog…

"Of course not…" Lifting a self-deprecating eyebrow Dov qualified, "Newts have _spines_…" If ever there was a 'this is your brain on Gail' moment it had been the night of his confession. Of course the _actual _drugs hadn't helped…

Hearing the bitterness (with just a pinch of dejection) Traci challenged, "'Better,' huh?" You didn't go from hopelessly (pathetically) in love to indifferent in months, no matter how much he might _wish_ you could.

Dov narrowed his eyes at her before admitting, "Working on it…" It wasn't like he had a _choice_ – Gail was sticking to her guns on the 'never friends' thing, having barely said two non-work-related words to him since the breakup.

Feeling bad for putting the boys on the spot Andy interjected, "And it's not just _guys_, either. Remember that detective we went to interview about Brennan's wife's death? Who dropped by the 15 _just _to check up on the case?" Andy had thought Gail was being her usual narcissistic self when she'd announced the woman had been hitting on her. _Until_ the detective had dropped by because she was 'curious' and 'in the neighborhood'… "_That _would be the record: an hour of being treated like a suspect…"

Dov thought he remembered something about messy handwriting… "Wait – didn't Gail go to lunch with her after we found Sam?"

"I don't know," Andy shrugged. "I didn't stick around that long."

Andy's declaration clued Chris in to what 'record' they were talking about. "_Uh_… I'm pretty sure Gail already knows the new guy…" The others simultaneously turned their attention to him and he resisted the urge to cringe. "Come on – Nick _Collins_? He's _gotta_ be the Chief's son…" It was a nice feeling, not being the slow one for once…

"No way…" Andy breathed. Someone would have said _something _if that were the case…

Dov shook his head. "It's a common name; it doesn't mean anything."

"Hang on," Traci hushed him with a hand, "I think Chris may be on to something here; Gail has definitely been off all day…" Not gloating about the detective's assignment? Being nice to Andy? Letting the comment about her relationship with Chris go?

"I thought she was just being nice because I'm back," Andy confessed, a little disappointed. "'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' and all that jazz…"

Chris scoffed. It was more like, 'absence makes the heart go yonder' with Gail…

"The Chief is her godfather, right?" Dov reasoned. "Wouldn't that make them some kind of siblings?" It was lame but it was all he had.

"I don't know.." Traci smirked, knowing exactly _why_ he was trying to minimize their relationship, "But if I had a brother who looked like _that_ I might be willing to partake in a little incest…"

Andy's face scrunched up in disgust. "_Ew_."

Dov shot Traci a wounded look – mental image not appreciated – but didn't comment.

"I'm _kidding_," Traci chuckled at the brunette's scandalized expression. "Anyway, _whatever_ it was it ended badly; he's been getting the Dov treatment…"

"Thanks," Dov muttered sarcastically. "Just… thanks for that." Count on Traci to always make him feel better…

Traci shrugged unapologetically. "Hey, it's not my fault you threw a metaphorical hand grenade at her and just stood there while she blew up…"

Chris would have agreed but he had no room to talk – he was the one who had _let _Gail blow up…

Brow furrowed Dov pouted, "Still…"

"No 'still,'" Traci cut him off. "You have your girlfriend, your best friend _and _your apartment. You get no sympathy from me." Okay, he got a _little_ sympathy from her but not enough for her to go through it again. Not after Luke. "Either do something about it or deal…"

"You know I'm sitting _right_ here, right?" Chris wasn't too thrilled she was advising Dov to go for Gail after what he'd done.

"Then I don't need to repeat myself," Traci told him pointedly, then turned to Andy. "Thanks for abandoning me in the middle of Gailgate, by the way…"

Andy grinned at her, not at all sorry she'd missed it. "Everyone's still alive – you did fine." Had her best friend not been across the table she was pretty sure she would have been hit… "Besides, how hard could it have been? These two are back to normal and Gail's acting like it never happened…"

Dov would have contended Gail acting like it never happened was hardly _easy_ but wasn't willing to open himself up to more scorn.

That's _exactly_ what bothered Traci – that no one was _dealing _with what had happened. She knew for a fact she was the closest thing Gail had to a friend; that the blonde wouldn't talk to her about it – much less yell or scream or cry – had her worried that eventually the supressed emotions would come to a head in a less than constructive (or potentially dangerous) way. "Well, something tells me it's about to get a hell of a lot more complicated with the arrival of Sexy McSoldier…"

"Really?" Dov groaned, "You couldn't just use his name?"

"He has a name?" Traci blinked in mock-surprise. "I must have missed it while I was admiring his… credentials."

Andy had to laugh even as she chastised, "You're evil…"

Chris just shook his head, amused; he wasn't threatened by how hot the new guy was…

Oh, Traci wasn't done yet… Glancing towards the door she offered an innocuous, "I wonder if they're fighting or making up for lost time…"

Dov automatically followed her gaze, sighing, "Nash, _you suck_…"

* * *

"Get off my car, Collins…"

Nick 'stood' his ground, casually sitting on the hood with his feet on the bumper. "Not until you hear me out."

Gail glared daggers into his back from the driver's seat. "I'm not interested in whatever half-baked excuse you came up with in the last five minutes." The _nerve_ of him, showing up in _her_ division, pretending he didn't know she'd be there, and then acting like she should just welcome him with open arms. Were _all _men this fucking delusional or just the ones in _her_ life?

"It's not an excuse, Gail," he told her over his shoulder, loud enough for her to hear him through the window she'd opened to yell at him. "If you'd just _listen_ for once in your life…"

Was he _kidding_ her? Teeth gritted she promised, "If you don't get off my car you will be a _hood ornament_ for my ride home…"

In all the years and all the threats she'd never _once_ followed through, infinitely more bark than bite. "Go for it…" he invited with a shrug.

_Seriously?_ Without a second thought Gail threw the car into reverse and hit the gas. Hard.

Nick was so stunned by the movement he barely caught his footing as he toppled from the hood. He managed to maintain some dignity by _not_ yelping as he did it…

Slamming on the brakes (probably no more than a half-inch from the car behind her) Gail had to refrain from switching to drive and running him over. "_Move_, Collins." Her surprise that he was actually _doing_ it quickly turned to panic when she realized he was coming around to her side. She instinctively locked the doors.

He abstained from _voicing_ the futility of her action as he reached through the window and _un_locked them. Opening the door he bent to lean over her and put the car in park, then pulled back to crouch next to her. "Gilly…"

"_Don't_," Gail warned hoarsely, staring out the windshield. "There are only three people on the planet allowed to call me that and you're _not_ one of them." He'd _lost _that privilege when he'd disappeared on her nearly five years before.

Brushing her hair back so he could see her face Nick quietly shared, "You're still adorable when you're flustered…"

Gail swallowed hard; turned to him with an icy stare. "This isn't some happy reunion, _Nicky_; just say what you want to say so I can leave."

Nick sighed and dropped his hand. "I really didn't know you were here, okay? They didn't say anything…"

If he expected that excuse to fly he was an idiot. "Where did you think I'd be? It's 'Division Peck,' remember?"

Taking a deep breath he began, "Honestly?"

"_No_," she interrupted tersely, "I want you to _lie_ to me…"

Okay, so he'd kinda asked for that one… Meeting her wary eyes he admitted, "I try not to think of you at all."

Gail's eyes welled with tears before she could stop them; she turned away even though he couldn't have _not_ seen them. "I can't do this now, okay?" After everything else it was just too much – she was barely hanging on as it was – and she needed time to process and bury.

And _that _– her pain – was _exactly_ why he'd tried. And up until now had succeeded… "Do you think I _wanted_ to leave you, Gail? We'd barely been apart since we were kids…"

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid, okay?" she bit off, facing him again. "_You_ enlisted. _You_ took off without a word to me or your parents. Not a phone call or a _Dear Jane_ or an _adios amiga_…"

His mother had known but that was beside the point. "I _did_," Nick whispered, taking a risk in taking her hand, "_because_ I knew what would happen if I'd stayed."

Gail looked back out the window but didn't pull away. "If you didn't want to get married all you had to do was _say_ so…"

"You _have_ met you, right?" he teased, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. His smile faded when she gave him the coldest glare he'd ever been privy to. "It wasn't _me _that didn't want to get married, Gail…"

"Don't even _try_ to blame this on me," she hissed, eyes narrowed at the implication. "Vegas was _my_ idea…"

"But _only_ because the alternative was a showy wedding that had nothing to do with _us_ and everything to do with our families…" That she'd refused to go to a Justice of the Peace instead – _insisted_ on doing it without their parents – proved that it would have been an act of rebellion more than love. "You weren't ready to get married any more than I was, and I didn't want us to end up resenting each other because they'd forced our hand."

Gail stared out the window, trying to wrap her mind around it all. He wasn't wrong, she'd spent enough time replaying it in her head to _know_ that, but it didn't erase all the carnage he'd left behind or the damage he'd done.

Nick let her deliberate until he'd lost all feeling in his legs. "Can we go somewhere more comfortable? Or get out of the car at least?"

His position wasn't conducive to blood flow but that didn't stop her from lifting a critical eyebrow. "_Really_? How'd you manage to survive two tours, _Nicole_?"

"Same way you survived your parents, _Gil_…" It was a long-standing joke; she accused him of whining like a girl and he ribbed her on having the emotional sensitivity of a guy, the products of their parallel but very different upbringings. "What do you say, Gilly? Take pity on the _clearly_ inferior being?"

Gail hated that he could still make her want to smile. She _didn't_, but she wanted to. "Get out and close the door," she instructed evenly. "If you're lucky maybe I'll just repark the car…"

Nick couldn't quite get a read on her, her features more guarded than he was used to. "Get out and let _me_ park it…"

Did she _look_ like she was in the mood to negotiate? "After the way you drove today you're not _touching_ my baby, Collins; _even_ if it's just to go ten feet…" Especially not after he'd reminded her about the poor MG…

Accepting he had no choice but to trust her Nick released her hand to hold his own up in surrender. "You have every right to take off, okay? Leave me the way I left you. But I'm _asking_ you to please not to…" With that he stood and gently closed the door.

_Dammit_. She couldn't very well take off _now_, after he'd effectively called her out on the reason she would have used for _doing_ so. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't gun the engine like she _was_…

Nick rolled his eyes when she came to a shrieking halt two spots further up. _Control Freak._ Starting towards her he half-expected her to peel off just as he was getting close; let out a relieved sigh when she emerged from the car to lean against it.

Gail warily watched him approach, suppressing the urge to flee while she still had the chance. Nick Collins was dangerous. More dangerous than Chris and Dov _combined_, because where she connected with Chris physically, Dov mentally, both (unfortunately) _emotionally_, Nick was her match in all respects but also the _only_ person she'd ever let in on a spiritual level. He knew her inside and out – the way she'd _thought_ she knew him – and he wouldn't be nearly as easy to hide from or hold at arm's length. But what scared her the most? The possibility that she wouldn't even want to _try_…

* * *

**I have no idea where I'm going with this but I had to get it out there. I might do a second chapter just to wrap up the Gail/Nick conversation...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I haven't seen the last episode so if Nick's character has been established differently it's not my fault ;)**

**Picks up right where the last chapter left off (outside the Penny).**

**ETA: Even though this wasn't really ready this morning I posted anyway because I wanted to watch the episode and I knew if I did I wouldn't post after. And then I realized I hated how it came out. So I touched up a few things. Nothing major but just some little things that were bothering me. There's still stuff that's bothering me but I could keep tweaking forever at that rate. And I'll stop now :)**

* * *

Nick came to a stop in front of Gail, her crossed arms and disinterested expression telling him that any progress he'd made had somehow been lost in the minute they'd been apart. "Do you want to go back to the bar? Get a drink?"

"You really don't want me to have a drink in my hand…" Gail deflected, the real reason she wanted to avoid the Penny having nothing at all to do with the associated temptation of dousing him with something flammable. As great a temptation as that _was…_

Making a show of it he copied her stance and lifted a pointed eyebrow. "Maybe I just want to get a drink _in_ _you_ so you'll chill out some…"

Evidently four years in a war zone hadn't done _anything_ for his survival instincts… "Alcohol doesn't work miracles, Collins," she informed him sharply. "It won't make me think you're any less of an ass…"

She wasn't nearly as intimidating as she thought she was; at least not to _him_… "If I _recall_ correctly," he smirked, moving in until their folded arms were touching, "you used to think very _highly_ of my ass…"

Gail was torn between wanting to slap him for being so damned cheeky and _herself_ for the way her heart had sped up; settled for putting a hand on his chest and easing him out of her personal space. "I just don't want anyone knowing about us, okay?" Realizing she'd made it sound like they were together _presently _she clarified, "_Then_. That we knew each other _before_…"

Why she couldn't have just said that to _begin with_ he had no idea, but her tongue darting out to swipe her bottom lip had totally been worth the detour… "Uh, I got the impression your staff sergeant _already_ knows…"

She waved an unconcerned hand. "He's only _assuming_ because he knows who your dad is…" And who _her_ parents were, obviously.

Clearly not getting it Nick pointed out, "But he's _right_…"

"So? Not _everyone_ knows and I'd like to keep it that way." For whatever reason Frank was keeping Nick's parentage close to the vest and it was fine by Gail; with Andy's return McSwarek had unseated Deckstein as the favored topic of speculation and she'd really rather not take back the title with Peckins. _God_, but she hated cutesy couple names…

Her having so little faith in her coworkers wasn't a big shocker but it was shortsighted, even for her… "I'm going to be trusting these people with my life, Gilly; I _really_ hope they're smart enough to put two and two together…"

_Ugh. _Couldn't he just say 'agreed' and move along? Running a hand through her hair she conceded, "Fine – I don't want anyone knowing we were _more_ than just buddy blue brats…"

Nick read between the lines and wasn't sure he liked what he came away with. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"No, I just…" Gail looked away; shrugged dismissively. "It's complicated."

"You're seeing someone…" he deduced, the realization making him feel strangely threatened. It shouldn't have come as a surprise – she'd always been magnetic, drawing people in even as she pushed them away – but part of not thinking about her was never having to imagine she would move on…

Gail didn't care to analyze the emotion that had seeped into his voice, _or_ set him straight on something that was absolutely none of his business… "Like I said…" Meeting his eyes she repeated evenly, "It's _complicated_."

If she'd said 'yes' he could have reasoned she was _trying_ to make him jealous; that she was dodging the question told him it was just an unintended side effect. "Which one of them is it then?"

Even if Gail had _wanted_ to answer she wouldn't have known _how_ to, the only upside to that being neither would anyone _else_ should he decide to ask around… "Either agree to my condition or we're done here…"

Nick tensed up, his crossed arms no longer just a mocking reflection. "So that's it? I'm your dirty little secret?" Without thinking he bit off, "You just act like nothing ever happened between us?"

It took every ounce of restraint Gail had to put a hand _on_ his face instead of her fist _through _it. "_Aw_ – you should take it as a compliment, Nicky," she condescended, emphasizing the words with a none-too-gentle pat to his cheek. "If it weren't for you I wouldn't be so damned _good_ at it…"

More than the contact or tone – though they were each painful in their own right – it was the _accusation_ that made Nick flinch. "Gail, that's not…"

"Fair?" she guessed, unmoved by the guilt written on his features. "I agree completely…" As would any of the other guys she'd been with (or _hadn't_ been with, as the case may be), she was sure… "Or were you going to go with 'true'? 'Cause I gotta say, deserting me to _join _the army doesn't exactly scream 'emotionally invested'…"

For his part Nick didn't know _what _to say. It had always been 'them against the world;' this new 'her against him (and the world)' attitude unsettled him as much as it cut him deeply. "I told you why I had to leave… "

Gail scoffed. "_Yeah_, I'd be more inclined to believe it if you'd told me _then_." Now it just seemed like a convenient excuse, especially after how he'd made light of it at the Penny…

"I _wanted_ to, Gail," he promised. "You don't know how many times I _started_ to…" The last thing he'd ever wanted to do was _lie_ to her, even by omission.

A heavy pit formed in Gail's stomach. "For how long?" She'd convinced herself he'd gotten cold feet; taken off on a _whim_…

Nick saw her jaw clench and knew he'd slipped up. "It doesn't…"

"How. _Long_," she growled from deep in the back of her throat. "How long did you let me go on about my plans knowing you weren't going to be sticking around to be part of them?" Knowing none of it would happen _at all_…

Taking a breath he admitted, "A month…"

"A month…" she repeated quietly. _Disbelievingly_. A _month_ that he'd been telling her he loved her – making love _to _her – _knowing _he'd be abandoning her…

"Gail…" He panicked when she started walking away; grabbed her arm.

Gail spun around blindly, her palm somehow connecting with his face even though her vision was blurry. "Don't _touch_ me!"

Ignoring the stinging in his cheek (and his own eyes) Nick took hold of her shoulders to whisper, "I _couldn't_ tell you, okay? You would have asked me to stay…" He didn't need to specify that he _would have_; she was well aware of the hold she had.

Just because _he_ was right didn't make _it _right… Knocking his hands away she spat, "And after? It never crossed your mind to pick up the phone for a 'Hey, babe, just FYI, it's not you; it's our crazy-ass parents'?"

"You know it wasn't you," Nick argued, brow furrowed.

"_Don't_," Gail warned with a vicious shake of her head. "Don't you dare tell me what I_ know_… I spent God knows how long hearing that I'd chased you – the best thing that would _ever_ happen to me, by the way – off by not being nice enough or dedicated enough. That it _had _to be my fault because you were a good son and you would never do something so irresponsible unless I'd driven you _to it_. Because you would _never _be that kind of disappointment…"

Nick didn't need to ask _who _had been doing the talking; his parents loved her as if she was their own and her father worshiped the ground she walked on. "She can't blame you for something I did, Gail…"

Apparently he'd forgotten 'can't' was _not_ part of Elaine Peck's vocabulary… "What did you think she'd do, Nick? Pull out a pint of Rocky Road and let me cry on her shoulder? Declare you an undeserving fool?" It didn't matter that everyone _else_ had rallied around Gail – her mother's voice had a way of drowning out all others.

Elaine's feelings were the _last_ ones Nick had been worried about, though he probably should have realized they were the ones that affected Gail most. "You know you could have gone to my mom," he offered lamely, more to cover for his lack of forethought than because he believed she actually _would_ have.

The implication made Gail want to hit him again. "I didn't _need_ to go running to your mother; I was _fine._ I am _still _fine…" It would take a hell of a lot more than losing a man to break her; though she would be lying if she'd said losing _him_ wasn't the closest she'd ever come… Poking him in the chest she growled, "But that doesn't give you the right to just show up here acting like I didn't have a reason to _not _be fine; like I should just shrug off what you did because it _didn't_ destroy me…" 'No harm, no foul' seemed to be the justification of choice when it came to people turning her life upside-down and she was beyond fed up of it.

Nick had no doubt she'd managed to convince herself she _was_ fine – it was what had made it so easy for him to _believe_ she was – but the tears brimming in her eyes told a different story. He gently took hold of her wrist, partly to get her to cease the poking but mostly to keep her from taking off. "Gail, I'm _sorry_…"

"I don't _care_," she brusquely countered, the vehemence of the statement sadly ruined by the cracking of her voice. Still, she forged ahead: "'Sorry' doesn't change the fact that I waited far longer than I should have for you to come home. Or that I had to find out from Steve when you finally _did_…" Or that, _once again_, she'd started waiting for a call that never came…

All he could do was try to explain because he had no good defense. Leaning back against the hood of her car he pulled her to stand in front of him. "I was only going to clear my head, okay?"

"Well, that accounts for maybe _one_ week of the two hundred you were gone," Gail remarked dryly, feeling the need to compensate for not putting up a fight.

Far from insulting the comment was actually _encouraging_. "I never meant to be gone that long…" He released her wrist to properly take her hand; resisted the urge to entwine their fingers. "But I was doing something _good_, babe – something that had nothing to do with my dad – and suddenly one year had become two and the longer I was there the easier it was to stay…"

Gail felt her ire rise at the admission that she hadn't been enough to bring him home; tamped down on it because if there was one thing she _could_ understand it was not wanting everything you did held up against someone else's accomplishments. "And when you _did _come back?"

"It was like too _much _time had passed," he sighed, remembering. "Like I was back but there was still an ocean between us…" It seemed silly now, with her standing in front of him and him wishing he could reclaim the last year. "This wasn't how I wanted it to be, Gail."

"But that's how it _is_." Whether _she_ wanted it to be that way or not. "You can't just erase five years…"

Nick shook his head. "Maybe not, but we're here _now._" Assuming his most charming grin he Bogarted, "Of all the divisions in all the towns in all the world I walked into _yours_…"

"More like 'sauntered into it like the big pretentious jerk you are,'" Gail easily corrected, suppressing her own smile. "Besides, I get the feeling it was more 'parental interference' than 'divine intervention'…"

Oh, there wasn't a doubt in Nick's mind that it was some sort of conspiracy between the Chief and the Superintendent… "I guess we should just be happy they finally learned how to use their power for good rather than evil…"

Gail raised an eyebrow. "Don't go getting all proud of them just yet; they're probably updating the guest list as we speak…" She'd been kidding (mostly) but her mood suddenly turned somber. "Should I let Frank know you might be pulling a 'Swarek' on us?"

Nick gave her a confused look. "Pulling a what now?"

The boy had so much to learn, provided he was sticking around… "Absconding into the night," she clarified, forcing a glib tone. "Are you going to be going AWOL at the first mention of picking a venue?"

Hearing the question behind the question Nick cupped her cheek with his other hand; made like he didn't notice when she (just barely) leaned into him. "I'm not going _anywhere_," he promised quietly. "You're stuck with me…"

The knot in Gail's chest loosened enough for her to chastise, "You're getting ahead of yourself there, Romeo; you still have a ton of groveling to do before you even _see _my good graces much less be _in_ them…"

Nick feigned confusion. "So you _don't_ want to elope tonight just to screw with them…"

It was clearly facetious but that didn't stop Gail from rolling her eyes. "Don't be an idiot." This time around she planned on putting her foot down.

"Aw – come on, Gilly," he teased, tilting her face up to him. "We can use dad's name to requisition a 'copter from York and be at the Falls in no time…"

Gail scoffed over the rapid beating of her heart. "I won't trust you with my car but you think I'm gonna trust you with a _helicopter_?"

It probably should have worried him that she took more issue with _that _than being party to fraud and grand larceny… "We'll requisition a pilot, too; they can double as witness…"

That Gail actually (briefly) considered it was testament to how difficult the last couple of months had been. Well, _that_, and how much she'd missed him… Resting her free hand on his ribcage she marveled, "How our parents can think _I'm _the bad influence I have no idea…"

"You're the only one I ever do stupid shit to impress," Nick supplied without hesitation, watching as he trailed his thumb over her bottom lip.

Gail's breath hitched – both from the matter-of-fact words and the intimacy of the action – and she grabbed his chin to force him to meet her eyes. "If you even _think_ about leaving again I will kill you, Collins…" And in that moment she truly meant it…

Taking the threat for what it really was Nick just smiled and tugged her into him. "_Yes, Ma'am_."

"Glad we understand each other," Gail whispered, closing the remaining distance to seal it with a tentative kiss.


End file.
